Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY548192 Registered with Ofsted: 10/10/2017 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children typically have positive attitudes to learning. They explore the environment with increasing confidence, make independent choices and engage purposefully with the resources available. Children who speak English as an additional language make measurable progress in their understanding and use of English, demonstrating increasing confidence in their communication.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop their listening skills through regular opportunities to share books, stories, rhymes and songs. They listen with increasing attention, respond to questions and join in with familiar words and repeated phrases. They apply early mathematical skills as they count, compare lengths and heights and explore shapes during play. Older children confidently identify shapes and colours and talk about what they are doing. Younger children communicate their understanding by pointing to resources and expressing their achievements through smiles, gestures and clapping.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children generally acquire the knowledge and skills they need for the next stage in their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder establishes daily routines that help children understand the sequence of the day and what will happen next. Children generally follow these routines with confidence, which helps them feel settled and secure within the setting. The childminder uses visual timetables to reinforce daily routines, support children's understanding of transitions and promote communication. These visual prompts provide additional support for children who are learning English as an additional language and those who benefit from visual cues to understand expectations. However, these approaches are not yet embedded consistently across the provision, meaning that some children do not always receive the full benefit of this support.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder develops secure, positive relationships with children, helping them to feel safe, valued and confident. She remains calm during interactions, recognises children's achievements and uses praise to reinforce positive behaviour and encourage participation. Visual choice boards support children in making decisions at snack time and promote independence. The childminder recognises that using these resources more consistently will create further opportunities for the youngest children to make independent choices and strengthen their understanding.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Behaviour is generally positive. Children cooperate with one another and engage positively with adults throughout the day. When children display challenging behaviour, the childminder responds calmly and offers support. However, behaviour management strategies are not always applied consistently. As a result, children do not always receive clear, predictable messages about expectations or consistent support to help them regulate their emotions. The childminder promotes regular attendance by discussing attendance with parents and carers and reinforcing the importance of attending regularly so children can benefit from continuity in their learning and development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder typically promotes children's wellbeing by developing secure, nurturing relationships that help them feel safe, settled and valued. An effective key-person system provides children with consistent care from familiar adults, enabling them to build trusting relationships. The childminder identifies children who may require additional help to overcome barriers to learning and generally implements appropriate strategies to support their individual needs, including, where appropriate, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Daily circle times encourage children to recognise and express their emotions. The childminder introduces emotional vocabulary that reflects children's stages of development, beginning with words such as happy and sad, before extending their understanding to other feelings, including worried and shy.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder encourages healthy lifestyles through everyday routines and purposeful interactions. Children follow established handwashing routines and understand why this is important. They enjoy nutritious snacks and lunches, choosing from healthy options, while adults sit alongside them to promote conversation, extend language and encourage independence at mealtimes.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder works in partnership with parents and carers to provide continuity between home and the setting, for eating, sleeping, nappy changing and toileting routines. She provides appropriate equipment and resources that reflect children's different ages and stages of development. Children have regular access to drinking water throughout the day and benefit from daily outdoor play and visits within the local community. This helps them develop healthy habits, physical confidence and an understanding of active lifestyles.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has identified the knowledge, skills and experiences she wants children to gain as they move through the setting. She follows children's interests while carefully extending their learning through planned opportunities. She and any assistants work together to evaluate previous learning, review individual targets and agree how each adult will contribute to children's ongoing progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum typically promotes children's communication skills across a range of experiences. The childminder supports many children who speak English as an additional language and uses everyday interactions to introduce and reinforce new vocabulary, model language and develop children's understanding. As children move through the setting, they become increasingly confident in communicating in English.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder incorporates stories, rhymes and songs into daily routines, encouraging children to listen, join in and develop their language skills. She leads movement and dance sessions that introduce the names of body parts while encouraging children to follow instructions and participate with enthusiasm. Daily circle times provide opportunities for children to identify and talk about their emotions, extending their emotional vocabulary and supporting their understanding of feelings.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum provides regular opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Outdoors, children climb, balance, run, throw balls and use wheeled toys to build coordination, balance and control. The childminder also promotes early mathematical understanding through everyday experiences. Children count during play, explore shapes and patterns, mix colours and solve simple problems as they investigate the world around them.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder enhances the curriculum through regular visits within the local community, including trips to the museum, park and mobile library, providing children with meaningful experiences that broaden their knowledge of the world, promote language development and extend their learning beyond the setting.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The youngest children do not always have sufficient space and resources to engage fully in activities and access the curriculum. Although the childminder has introduced strategies to support their participation, these are not yet implemented consistently across the provision.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder places inclusion at the heart of her practice and draws on her experience of supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She seeks support from other professionals, such as other childminders with specialist knowledge, to support her practice further. This helps her to gather information from parents and carers, identify barriers to learning and implement targeted support that reflects each child's needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Many families speak English as an additional language. The childminder uses translation technology, provides resources in home languages and explains routines and processes clearly. She models language throughout daily interactions to extend children's understanding and use of English.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has established effective systems to gather information from parents and observes children from the outset. She identifies emerging needs, sets achievable targets and tracks progress over time. She shares evidence with parents to support their understanding of their children's development and encourages families to contribute observations from home. This provides a detailed picture of each child's strengths, interests and areas for development. She also offers help with referrals for additional support and funding.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder works closely with other professionals and implements agreed strategies and targets. The childminder does not always implement strategies consistently to fully support all children's understanding, communication and independence.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder generally demonstrates effective leadership through her understanding of the setting and commitment to continuous improvement. She reflects on practice to identify priorities for development, works collaboratively with assistants to review provision and implement improvements and follows clear procedures to support effective practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder places positive relationships with children and families at the centre of her practice. She provides effective inductions, with information available in a range of languages to promote inclusion and support families' understanding of English. She encourages reading at home by providing books for families to share and offers sensitive support to those navigating referral processes. Parents value the guidance, communication and support they receive.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder completes mandatory training and is committed to her professional development. She has recently completed training on babies' brain development and has identified further training to prepare for caring for younger children. She shares learning with any assistants, supports their professional development and wellbeing and uses regular supervision and dedicated administrative time to help maintain high-quality practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder works effectively with other professionals, including the local authority and specialist services. She generally implements advice promptly, incorporates agreed targets into children's plans where appropriate and reviews progress regularly. This typically helps to ensure children receive coordinated support that meets their individual needs.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children arrive happily and separate from their parents with confidence because they feel safe, secure and valued. Staff greet each child warmly and know them and their families well. An effective key-person system helps children form secure attachments, enabling them to explore the environment with confidence and engage fully in learning. Staff use assessment and tracking systems to identify children's individual needs and next steps, ensuring activities build on what children already know and can do. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those facing any barriers to learning are generally supported from the outset.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children benefit from an inviting indoor and outdoor environment that staff organise thoughtfully to maximise learning opportunities. They move independently between activities, access resources confidently and generally understand the daily routine. They eagerly anticipate familiar parts of the day, such as story and wriggle time, joining in enthusiastically and encouraging one another to participate.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children communicate their ideas with enthusiasm and seek out adults to share their achievements. They proudly demonstrate their counting skills and celebrate new discoveries during play. For example, younger children enjoy exploring wet sand through sensory play. They smile as they investigate the texture and watch closely as they imitate the actions of an older child. They remain engaged in the activity for sustained periods, allowing the childminder to build on their interests and support their next steps in learning. The childminder responds positively by sharing children's excitement, commenting on what they are doing and introducing descriptive language to extend their vocabulary. Children generally develop an understanding of the wider community through regular visits to local places, including museums, and by attending playgroups with other childminding settings. These experiences help children develop confidence in different social situations and

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

broaden their understanding of the world around them.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 06:00 - 20:00,Saturday,Sunday : 06:00 - 20:00

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About this setting

Local authority: Birmingham Parents generally work closely with the childminder and receive regular information about their children's learning and development. The childminder promotes the importance of regular attendance, helping children benefit from continuity in their care, learning and development.

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Next steps

The childminder should adapt activities more effectively to meet the developmental needs of younger children and maximise their engagement in learning. The childminder should implement strategies consistently to support children's communication, understanding of expectations and positive behaviour.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, a co-childminder and children and gathered parents' views during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection under sections 49 and 50 of the Children Act 2006 on the quality and standards provision that is registered on the Early Years register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children's learning, development and care, known as the early years foundation stage.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care. services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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